Keep Your Cat Indoors, For Natures Sake

I'm not sure what a natural animal is, but being a "natural animal" and being a natural part of an ecosystem are not necessarily the same thing. A boa constrictor is a "natural animal", that doesn't mean it belongs in Central Park.

Well transplanting animals into an alien environment isn't the same thing. Cats are indigenous to North America and would have been around regardless of the decision to start using them as pets. Boa's belong in more tropical climates and wouldn't be here if not for people bringing them up here.

You super predator is simply a predator with no natural predators of its own. Even you, in all your keyboard clacking fury, are technically a super predator. Unless one counts logic and people skills as predators, in which case you'd be in trouble.

personal insults are the last resort of the feebleminded. You need to find your village- they miss you. Need someone to make fun of.

I am pro-feral cat. Obviously. And of course, responsible pet ownership, which goes without saying.

And yes, ignoring the fact that the contributors to the report are people that have been tried and convicted of killing feral cats is willful ignorance of bias. I would hope that the previous statement wouldn't need a restated example to be clear.

I must have missed the part where everyone involved in the report was convicted of killing cats. Even the person you mentioned wasn't convicted of killing cats. You calling me biased is a classic pot meets kettle situation.

Pro feral and pro reponsible pet ownership is the epitome of hypocrisy. It's like being anti legalization of marijuana while keeping a grow house.

I must have missed the part where everyone involved in the report was convicted of killing cats. Even the person you mentioned wasn't convicted of killing cats. You calling me biased is a classic pot meets kettle situation.

Pro feral and pro reponsible pet ownership is the epitome of hypocrisy. It's like being anti legalization of marijuana while keeping a grow house.

Oh, poisoning, my sincere apologies. Because she was certainly just trying to give them an upset stomach and had probably never done anything like that before.

And its more like I'm all for responsible parenting, but I'm not going to be against kids in foster homes just because they don't live with their biological parents. It's not the kids fault that their parents were incapable idiots.

You super predator is simply a predator with no natural predators of its own. Even you, in all your keyboard clacking fury, are technically a super predator. Unless one counts logic and people skills as predators, in which case you'd be in trouble.

There are other predators that can kill cats (usually the old and young ones)
Off the top of my head:

Oh, poisoning, my sincere apologies. Because she was certainly just trying to give them an upset stomach and had probably never done anything like that before.

And its more like I'm all for responsible parenting, but I'm not going to be against kids in foster homes just because they don't live with their biological parents. It's not the kids fault that their parents were incapable idiots.

Nice try, though. Or something.

Yeah, this has pretty much run its course. I'm not going to argue over crazy people that poison animals, but nice attempt to derail.

speedkilz88;4990861 said:

There are other predators that can kill cats (usually the old and young ones)
Off the top of my head:

Coyotes
Wolves
Dogs
Owls
Raccoons
Oppossums

There are certainly animals that could kill a cat. I didn't say they were immortal, although they certainly may be.. :laugh2:

Come to think of it, I'm not even sure cats are technically predators (I think they are) since some kill for sport, not for consumption. I actually wonder if that behavior changes once they go feral.

Cats do not "go feral," they are born feral. If a domesticated cat gets out and lives outside they will be scared and may act like a feral cat, but once they are trapped they typically revert to trusting people rather quickly.

Feral cats do not have that trust, and while they are capable of developing it, it is a long process that required tremendous patience and highly unlikely.

Cats do not "go feral," they are born feral. If a domesticated cat gets out and lives outside they will be scared and may act like a feral cat, but once they are trapped they typically revert to trusting people rather quickly.

Feral cats do not have that trust, and while they are capable of developing it, it is a long process that required tremendous patience and highly unlikely.

If there's one thing I know, it's when to exit an argument with a cat lady over cats. Thanks for the conversation.

Pro feral and pro reponsible pet ownership is the epitome of hypocrisy. It's like being anti legalization of marijuana while keeping a grow house.

...in the earth's history all cats were feral.

As domestication and the symbiotic relationship between certain species developed, namely dogs and cats, there was still considerable feral populations throughout the world and very little responsible pet ownership.

It's only with the advancement of the concept of personal ownership of land that we are having discussions about stray and feral animals.

Oddly enough most of the colonies of feral cats I have seen or participated in the maintenance of are primarly in areas you wouldn't choose or desire to live in.

What the feral cats do their as a service to society is quite exceptional. They provide a balance to a "unnatural" habitat; abandoned warehouse districts, abandoned bldgs, empty fields, etc in regards to pests.

Without the existence of feral cat populations being supported by many volunteers throughout NA we would have a considerable rodent issue.

I'm certain we can all make a case for a larger cat population vs larger rodent numbers.

Neuter and release feral populations are another useful way for humans to manage the world they have created.

Let's not criticize one of the few good countermeasures we have come up with.

As domestication and the symbiotic relationship between certain species developed, namely dogs and cats, there was still considerable feral populations throughout the world and very little responsible pet ownership.

It's only with the advancement of the concept of personal ownership of land that we are having discussions about stray and feral animals.

Oddly enough most of the colonies of feral cats I have seen or participated in the maintenance of are primarly in areas you wouldn't choose or desire to live in.

What the feral cats do their as a service to society is quite exceptional. They provide a balance to a "unnatural" habitat; abandoned warehouse districts, abandoned bldgs, empty fields, etc in regards to pests.

Without the existence of feral cat populations being supported by many volunteers throughout NA we would have a considerable rodent issue.

I'm certain we can all make a case for a larger cat population vs larger rodent numbers.

Neuter and release feral populations are another useful way for humans to manage the world they have created.

Let's not criticize one of the few good countermeasures we have come up with.

"Mice normally wait at least two weeks to a month between litters. A mouse can have anywhere from 12 to 24 litters in a single year.

With an average of 12 mice per litter, a single mouse can give birth to around 144 to 288 babies a year!"

So based on that how many mice are in the world at any given time? Can you count the grains of sand in your sandbox? That's what we start with and they can give 288 babies per year for half of them, if we assume 50% are females.

Right now the number of mice in continental North America is staggering. So much so that any attempt top find the stat is considered ridiculous cause the numbers are so huge.

How many? A billion? Four billion? If you took the present population of the United States and said loosely there is one mouse for every human. Which is a fallacy because there is way more. Then 315/2=157 million mice will become 450 billion in one year. At 84 million deaths per year it would take the entire US cats population almost 5300 years to eradicate the mice in the US.

Also your article gives unrealistic generalization of an average of two kills a week in the United States. This ignores the fact that much of the US is locked in a winter and most cats are very unsuccessful hunters in winter. Most are sitting at home in their couches.

I haven't even begun to put together the numbers for a common NA bird species such as the Sparrow.